speech

1. the faculty or power of speaking; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds.

2. the act of speaking.

3. something that is spoken; an utterance.

4. a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience.

5. any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, film, etc.

6. the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect.

7. manner of speaking, as of a person.

8. a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.

9. any public form of expression, as spoken or written language, visual depictions, or expressive actions. Compare freedom of speech.

10. Archaic. rumor.

[before 900; Middle English speche, Old English spǣc, variant of sprǣc, derivative of sprecan to speak]

syn: speech, address, oration, harangue are terms for a communication to an audience. speech is the general word, with no implication of kind or length, or whether planned or not. An address is a rather formal, planned speech, appropriate to a particular subject or occasion. An oration is a polished, rhetorical address, given usu. on a notable occasion, that employs eloquence and studied methods of delivery. A harangue is an impassioned, vehement speech intended to arouse strong feeling and sometimes to lead to mob action.

the art or practice of speaking so that the voice seems not to come from the speaker but from another source, as from a mechanical doll. Also called ventriloquy, ventrilocution, gastriloquism. — ventriloquist, n. — ven-triloquistic, adj.

language, linguistic communication - a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols; "he taught foreign languages"; "the language introduced is standard throughout the text"; "the speed with which a program can be executed depends on the language in which it is written"

expressive style, style - a way of expressing something (in language or art or music etc.) that is characteristic of a particular person or group of people or period; "all the reporters were expected to adopt the style of the newspaper"

address - the manner of speaking to another individual; "he failed in his manner of address to the captain"

catch - a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)

Quotations"A speech is poetry: cadence, rhythm, imagery, sweep! A speech reminds us that words, like children, have the power to make dance the dullest beanbag of a heart" [Peggy Noonan What I Saw at the Revolution]"A speech is like a love-affair. Any fool can start it, but to end it requires considerable skill" [Lord Mancroft]"Speech is the small-change of silence" [George Meredith The Ordeal of Richard Feverel]"Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars" [Gustave Flaubert Madame Bovary]

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